Fantasy Outlook 2010

With Todd Heap firmly in place as the starter, Dickson will challenge Dennis Pitta to be the No. 2. The one thing Dickson has going against him is that he’s not a very solid blocker while Pitta is more of that type. Baltimore is a run-first team, so Dickson might lose some playing time in regards to that. However, Baltimore wouldn’t have drafted him in the third round if they didn’t have some legit expectations for this guy, so look for him to mature and become more of a threat downfield as a receiving tight-end in a few years. As for this year, unless Heap goes down, there won’t be much fantasy talk relating to Dickson.

His Game

While it is unclear whether Dickson is actually the son of Dick, there are some things we can be assured of about Dickson’s game. Although he is a tight-end, he is a pass catching machine. He has quick speed, great hands and can run sharp routes. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see his full potential in college because Oregon had a running scheme going- aka steal laptops and run from the cops. He did finish as Oregon’s second leading receiver on the year, catching 42 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns. Granted, three of those TDs were in one game against No. 6 Cal. He was used in a variety of formations, lining up as a traditional tight-end, split wide and even as an H-back.